Brass band competition offers variety of music

The Norris Cultural Arts Center was filled with the music of composers as varied as Chick Corea and Anthony Newley, as well as Dimitri Shostakovich and Peter Tchaikovsky Saturday as the U.S. Open Brass Band Championships were held in St. Charles for the first time.

The all-day event featured seven brass bands from as far away as Central Florida and as close as Arlington Heights, where the event previously has been held.

Clark Niemeyer, who plays percussion for the Arlington Heights-based Prairie Brass Band, coordinates the event with his father, Dallas, the band's conductor.

"It's an invitational," Clark Niermeyer said. "Bands apply to compete and we choose. Not everyone who applies gets to come."

"We're an all-amateur organization," Niermeyer added. He is president of Brass Bands International. "One of the goals of the event is to allow an opportunity for brass bands from across the nation to develop and grow their entertainment program."

Each band was allowed 25 minutes to perform music of its own choosing. A panel judged each group for music competency and entertainment value and presented awards in several categories, including U.S. Open Champion. Last year's winner, the Fountain City Brass Band based in the Kansas City area, performed Saturday.

Brass bands provide a spotlight for instruments such as the euphonium, flugel horn, cornet and tuba, instruments whose contributions may otherwise be behind the scenes.

The bands that performed Saturday played selections from several genres, from jazz to opera, from Broadway to classical.

Dan Davies of Amana, Iowa, who was on hand to play flugel horn for the Eastern Iowa Brass Band, said the event is more like a family reunion than competition.

"Not only do we love to perform, we love to hear the other bands," Davies said.

"We love the whole brass band culture," said Bob Driggs of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, who plays the tuba. "It's the fun of performing as well as hanging out. This music is the most challenging and the most fun that any brass player can play. And we have some of the most exuberant fans."

The competition was moved to St. Charles because the Norris Center, which seats 1,000, can provide a larger venue.

The midday audience numbered about 600.

"They are mainly aficionados that got their tickets in August," said Bert DesRosiers, house manager for the Norris Center.